On the Friday before last, a triumphal cry resounded from Kim Leadbeater and a number of key allies and supporters of her assisted suicide Bill. They were delighted by the news that GPs across the land had apparently undergone a form of Damascene conversion and changed their collective view on assisted suicide.
I refer to the decision, announced in a statement issued around midday on Friday, by the Royal College of General Practitioners’ (RCGP) Council to shift the body’s position from being opposed to the principle of assisted suicide to being neutral. This decision was supposedly based on the results of its latest survey of members on assisted suicide, conducted earlier this year.
Why is neutrality such a big deal? Well, imagine if the tobacco lobby got a major medical body’s council to switch from opposition to neutrality on smoking — not actively in favour, mind you, just not at all opposed either.
Statements flooded out at a remarkable pace. The CEO of Dignity in Dying, Sarah Wooton, said that the shift in position reflects a “remarkable shift in how the medical profession approaches choice at the end of life”. Celebrity champion of assisted suicide, Esther Rantzen, hailed the RCGP statement as “very good news”, whilst Leadbeater herself issued a statement on social media explaining, “The decision by the Royal College of GPs to drop its opposition to offering the choice of an assisted death to terminally ill adults is welcome and reflects the many conversations I have had with GPs during the progress of the Bill.”
The clear implication of Leadbeater and her allies’ responses was that the RCGP statement was a significant victory, indicating a swing amongst GPs towards the principle of assisted suicide. Unfortunately, Leadbeater seems not to have let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Rather than representing a movement towards the principle of assisted suicide, the results of the RCGP survey point to a hardening of opposition against it. The last time such a survey was carried out in 2019, 47 per cent of the 6,674 RCGP members surveyed thought the Royal College should oppose a change in the law on assisted suicide, whilst 40 per cent favoured RCGP support. However, the latest survey shows the per centage supporting a change in the law fell substantially to 33.7 per cent, whilst the per centage of those opposed actually increased to 47.6 per cent.
250 GPs complained about the way in which members’ views had been misrepresented
When you add together those who thought the Royal College should adopt a supportive position on assisted suicide (33.7 per cent) with those who believed it should adopt a neutral position (only 13.6 per cent), the combined figure is still lower than the 47.6 per cent who favoured the Royal College continuing to oppose assisted suicide. All of this represents a major swing in GP views away from support for the principle of assisted suicide.
The data linked to the survey results contradicts the picture Kim Leadbeater and her allies have been trying to paint of medical opinion moving towards her stance. Only outrageous spin could suggest otherwise. The reality suggests that there may have been a shift in sentiment against assisted suicide because of the flaws in Leadbeater’s own Bill. Perhaps Leadbeater and her allies should reflect upon this and seek to address doctors’ concerns with her Bill rather than misrepresenting their views.
The RCGP council based its decision on a new survey question, asking what the College should do if fewer than 50 per cent of respondents supported or opposed the legalisation of assisted suicide. Still, it was unsurprising that last Tuesday The Times published a letter from 250 GPs complaining about the way in which members’ views, expressed via the survey, had been misrepresented. How does it possibly make sense for a decline in support for assisted suicide to justify a less critical stance from the RCGP?
The 250 GPs who signed the letter to The Times are right to feel let down by an organisation that has a duty to represent its members’ views and interests fairly. It was the responsibility of the RCGP Council to interpret the results of its membership survey and adopt an appropriate position. Overall, four in ten Council members took a dissenting view and believed the RCGP should remain opposed to the principle of assisted suicide following the survey results but six in ten elected to adopt a neutral position. Notably, 0 per cent believed the RCGP should move to a position of supporting the principle of assisted suicide.
Leadbeater continues to promote her misleading narrative. Recently, she sent an email to all MPs referencing the RCGP survey and her own bogus interpretation of the results. She made no reference at all to the actual results of the survey of GPs, which showed that support for the College taking a position supporting assisted suicide being made legal fell significantly amongst the members taking part.
Sadly, the way Leadbeater and her allies have operated with regards to the publication of the RCGP statement is consistent with how they have operated throughout the past few months, game-playing and misleading narratives. In this instance, rather than grapple honestly with the reality that the medical profession appears to be turning against her Bill, Leadbeater has again doubled down on spin.
She is not alone. Unbelievably, in her own statement following the RCGP Council’s announcement, Sarah Wooton actually cites the British Medical Association (BMA) to strengthen her case for the legalisation of assisted suicide. This is despite the fact that only a couple of weeks ago the BMA Consultants conference voted to approve a damning motion, which noted “serious potential moral hazards for consultants and serious potential adverse impacts on health services” in relation to the Leadbeater Bill.
To date, the inappropriate tactics that Leadbeater and her allies have employed to try and ram her Bill through have often backfired. The handling of the RCGP survey indicates they have learned nothing.
